NFL coaches: most overrated, underrated?

It is difficult to argue with the choices of the players who were polled by The Sporting News.

Gary Kubiak (underrated) has not won big in the postseason, but he runs a solid program, develops players and finds a way to consistently contend. Since the start of the 2011 season, he has guided the Texans to a 17-7 record despite seeing his team battle through some potentially devastating injuries.He really has put Houston on the NFL map again, with the four best seasons in franchise history. Rex Ryan (overrated) isn't a bad coach, but he may be the most publicized coach in the NFL. He has a 31-25 record as head coach of the Jets and has failed to deliver on Super Bowl promises.

Most overrated coach in the NFL? How could it possibly be anybody other than Blusterin' Rex Ryan?

Annual Super Bowl guarantees, needless drama, ridiculous beefs with opponents. Rex is fun for the media, but what has he really done the past two seasons?

Underrated? Mike Smith has the unbeaten Falcons headed to the playoffs for the fourth time in his five seasons, while Sean Payton's worth has been proven by the Saints collapse. My choice, however, for most underrated is Mike Tomlin, whose Steelers are headed for a fifth playoff trip in his six seasons.

Tomlin already has two Super Bowl appearances, including one title, and his .682 career winning percentage is best among active championship coaches.

The most over-rated coach is Washington's Mike Shanahan. I keep waiting for him to turn the Redskins around yet they will finish fourth in the NFC North again and right now his record is 14-27. He's still hanging his hat on the John Elway years in Denver when he won two Super Bowls. It isn't going to happen in Washington.

The most underrated coach is Mike Tomlin of the Steelers. The guy has won a Super Bowl, has gone 60-28 in six seasons and has the Steelers gaining momentum for a long playoff run. And he's missing several key members of his defense and on offense he's down to a third-string running back. He just wins, and wins big.

Mike Shanahan won back-to-back Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos and is certainly deserving of respect. But since John Elway retired after the 1998 season, Shanahan hasn't coached a team to a playoff victory. He was lauded as a savior in Washington, and clearly he has yet to live up to that billing. He's the most overrated.

As for underrated, I'd go with Colts interim coach Bruce Arians, who stepped into an incredibly difficult situation and now has Indianapolis on track for playoff contention. He has worked beautifully with Andrew Luck in the absence of cancer-stricken Coach Chuck Pagano, just as Arians clicked so well with Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh. Arians might be a stand-in, but he could wind up being Coach of the Year. Would they have to put "interim" on the trophy?